Ice Age: Crawling Back To You
by Stubborn Saber
Summary: 1 month has passed since Diego and Shira confessed their love for each other and life couldn't be anymore perfect in their eyes, however life enjoys other peoples misery, will the sabers bond be able to endure through life's cruel game. Rated T for Violence and Blood.


**I'm back again, this time with another Diego and Shira song one-shot. It took a lot longer to finish this than I originally planned, life just kept throwing things at me and I had to put this on hold quite a few times... Oh well, it's finally here anyway. The song this time is of course 'Crawling Back To You' by Daughtry, I'd recommend playing it via a youtube when I've indicated and apart from that I haven't got much else to say, so yeah... Enjoy the story!**

* * *

Love… A feeling that binds you to someone, an emotion that many seek to find but fail endlessly; they never needed love, they had a family in the form of a herd/crew and were content with their lot in life, why would they need anything else? Having a home and family group (even if it was cut throat) was the only thing these proud and stubborn saber's required, the idea of being chained to someone because of a fickle emotion was ridiculous; besides would any other saber be able to understand why they chose to live as a herd/crew member instead of living in a pack of saber's? Probably not. The sabers in question are of course Diego and Shira, both of them thought the same way about love, it was a waste of time, and they had gotten into the mind-set that they were going to remain single and proud for the rest of their lives, but then it happened.

The continental drift had brought these two sabers on a direct collision course and when they finally met their fate drastically changed; though they didn't exactly get off to a smooth start however, with Shira aiding her captain, Gutt, and his pirate crew in capturing Diego, Manny, Sid and Granny whilst they were drifting on a small iceberg. Although Diego did find Shira to be quite alluring she didn't think too much of Diego that was until he managed to destroy Gutt's first ship (with a little help from Manny), catch her on Hyrax Island when she attempted to run back to Gutt and then he did something completely unexpected for a male saber, he showed a soft side of himself by offering her water whilst they held her prisoner even though she was his enemy. Slowly Shira felt herself beginning to warm up to and fall for this gentle yet rugged saber, once Gutt showed his true colours by turning his back on her, belittling her in front of the pirate crew for failing to kill Manny and Diego then attacking her she had no qualms with joining the herd and sending her old captain, who she use to consider a close friend, packing; now they were both in the same herd and within a month the two put pride and stubbornness aside and confessed their love for each other.

Another month has passed by on Hyrax Island since Diego and Shira officially become a couple as boyfriend and girlfriend and they spent near enough all their time together whether they were playing, hunting, relaxing or sleeping, within the few months that they'd known each other they had bonded so closely that they became inseparable. Currently it was a cloudless sunny day on Hyrax Island, on the islands eastern beach Diego and Shira were having one of their playful chases after a successful morning hunt; a flash of gold and silver blurred past the other resident animals, neither saber caring what they thought or had to say, all that mattered was them and winning the chase in their world. Diego was currently in the lead but Shira was following closely behind him, the flat surface was advantages for Shira because she was faster and more agile compared to Diego who had a more heavier build which meant she was quickly gaining on him, with no obstacles for Diego to throw Shira's way she was now swiftly running side by side with him; slightly tilting his head her way Diego caught a sweet look from Shira, but that was quickly changed by a mischievous glint in her eyes.

**Shira **(Confident)**: **"Gotcha now Diego!"

**Diego **(Teasing)**: **"Bring it Kitty."

Suddenly Shira came to an instant halt and Diego felt a paw bat his left hind leg which knocked him of balance and brought him crashing down to the ground, watching her work in motion Shira sat back and watched as Diego tumbled, flipped and scraped against the sandy floor, carried forward due to the momentum build up whilst he was running. Finally coming to a stop Diego had a mountain of sand holding his mouth open after traveling a few feet on his face, in his dazed state Diego just lied there trying to piece together what had just happened, one moment he was running along at a nice speed and then he was in the air after bouncing off of the floor when his feet should have landed; Shira was laughing hysterically whilst she padded up to him, he sure didn't see that one coming.

**Shira **(Laughing)**: **"I said I got ya, and I thought I told you not to call me Kitty."

**Diego **(Teasing)**: ***Spits out the sand whilst shaking his head* "You nearly sounded serious that time Kitty."

**Shira** (Threatening)**: **"I'm deadly serious… Softie."

Shira definitely managed to pull off a threatening pose and tone flawlessly even though she was just acting, it would have been enough to get anyone else to back off however Diego had spent enough time with her to see through her little act and just continued to mess around with her.

**Diego **(Teasing)**: **"Oh really, so what's that smirk about then?"

**Shira **(Threatening)**: **"Diego I'm warning y…"

**Granny **(Shouting)**: **"PRRREEEECCCIIIOOOUUUSSS!"

The sound of Granny's demanding voice echoed through the air and caught both sabers of guard, looking to their left they turned their attention towards Granny who was standing on the water's edge calling for her pet whale whilst throwing mango's into the sea, this wasn't abnormal for the crazy old sloth but she always seemed to be around at the most inconvenient of times. Diego and Shira were not even sure if the elderly sloth knew about their presence as she seemed oblivious to everything else around her, frowning at each over Diego and Shira were about to wander away from Granny when Precious all of a sudden appeared out of the oceans depths, flattening Granny with his tongue, when the giant whale recoiled his tongue Granny was seen stuck to it cackling away and cooing to her unlikely pet.

**Granny: **"Aw, good boy Precious, who's a good boy." *Precious closes his mouth*

As quickly as Precious had appeared he disappeared and this time had taken Granny with him leaving Diego and Shira alone once again.

**Shira: **"Sooo… Are we just going to pretend that never happened or…"

**Diego: **"Yeah pretty much; come on, if both of us saw that we need a drink, for all we know the midday heat could be getting to us."

Shira nodded in agreement but she didn't follow Diego, instead she waited for him to start walking away towards the forest, springing from her position Shira leapt through the air and pounced on Diego pressing his face down into the sand once again before running for the forest laughing as she went.

**Shira **(Laughing)**: **"Come on, keep up Softie."

For the second time within a few minutes Diego had to shake his head and spit out the sand that had been forced into his mouth, not good for the mood of the male saber; getting back to his feet Diego stormed after Shira letting his agitation show by the tone of his voice.

**Diego **(Irritated)**: **"SHIRA!"

* * *

It didn't take long for Diego and Shira to arrive at one of the small lakes that were scattered around the islands eastern forest, after having a quick drink Shira noticed that Diego was still a little annoyed at her for the little stunt she played on him; with steady persuasion she slowly got him to relax and loosen up a bit.

**Shira: **"What's wrong? Aren't you going to have a drink, you're the one who said we should have one." *Diego Just continues to frown at her* (Soft) "Aww, Diego why won't you talk to me? You're not still mad, are you?

Diego remains were he is still frowning, Shira starts padding towards him whilst giving him a sweet and sincere look that seemed to be pleading him to forgive her, as Shira walked she purposely made an alluring swaying motion with her hips knowing that Diego couldn't stay mad when she gave him this kind of attention. The frown that has firmly planted on Diego's face slowly started to fade away, but he continued to remain silent and kept his facial expression blank; then Shira began to circle Diego, brushing her pelt ever so gently across his as she did so, every time Diego felt Shira's pelt rub against his a goofy smile began to grow across his face. What finally got Diego to crack and purr was when Shira rubbed up underneath his neck, all the way from her head to the tip of her tail which she waft in his face.

**Diego **(Soft)**: ***Continues to purr* "There's no way could I possibly stay mad at you Shira."

Happy with Diego's response Shira gave him a slow tender lick across the side of his face and he reciprocated the affection Shira gave him by nipping gently at her right ear, this caused her shell earrings to jangle together which created a short yet pleasant melodic symphony. With plenty of shade to cover them from the intense heat of the sun's rays and no one around to disturb them they settled down peacefully by the lake side to take a midday nap, nodding off in the shade provided by the tree line they lay parrellel to each other with their heads facing the other; the only sound that could be heard was the sooth rustling of branches and leaves, the birds chirping above in the trees and the gentle breathing from the laid out sabers. They say when a cat sleeps it is never fully asleep, but in each other's company they felt completely relaxed and allowed their guard to be let down, normally this could be a deadly mistake however being the only known large predators on the island meant there was little chance this would hurt them.

Unfortunately for Diego and Shira on this particular day two mischief's possum twins were wandering around bored since they hadn't found anyone to play a prank on since this morning when they placed a dung beetle up Manny's trunk to wake him up; it didn't end well for them, Manny ended up throwing them out of the cave and sending them tumbling down a steep hill.

**Crash **(Down/Bored)**: **"I still say that was your fault that we got kicked out the cave this morning."

**Eddie **(Down/Bored)**: **"How was it my fault? You're the one who said we should prank Manny, I said we should've pranked Sid, but no you wanted to mix things up."

**Crash **(Down/Bored)**: ***Sighs* "Whatever, it was the only amusing thing that's happened all day anyway."

**Eddie **(Down/Bored)**: **"Yeah, I guess."

In their down state neither possum put any effort into trying to argue or get into one of their routine daily slap fights, they normally had all the luck when it came to finding someone new to prank, but this was just one of those dreary dull days were not much was going on and nothing was going their way. Out the corner of his eye Eddie noticed a sleeping form hiding away underneath the trees shade by the lake they had stumbled upon.

**Eddie **(Down/Bored)**: **"Hey who's that" *Points at the sleeping animals*

**Crash **(Down/Bored)**: ***Looks toward were Eddie is pointing* "Oh, that's just Diego and Shira sleeping close to each other."

**Eddie **(Down/Bored)**: **"Oh is that all… Wait"

After he finished his sentence Eddie's little face began to light up as an idea formed in his head from a previous prank they'd pulled on Diego when they first met him, with both sabers here and asleep it made the current situation perfect for Eddie's plan; this opportunity for a prank was just too good to pass up on, even though it posed the risk of them getting a lot worse treatment than they got this morning from Manny.

**Eddie **(Excited)**: ***Snaps fingers together* "I got it! Crash do ya still have your pebble shooter?"

**Crash: **"Yeah… Why?"

**Eddie **(Excited)**: **"Because I think those to love cats need a wake-up shot, if ya know what I mean" *Nudges Crash with his elbow*

**Crash **(Excited)**: **"…No, what do ya mean."

**Eddie **(Flat tone)**: **"Seriously dude?" *Shoots Crash with his pebble shooter* (Laughing) "Wake-up shot!"

Failing to see the funny side Crash retaliated by grabbing his own pebble shooter and gives his brother a low blow, this of course ended in an inevitable slap fight but this time they fought each other by using their pebble shooters as swords; it went back and forth between them, but they didn't realise that they were getting closer and closer to the sleeping sabers. Crash would block and then counter Eddie's strikes then it was Eddie's turn to block and counter Crash's strikes, but then Eddie saw a paw shaped shadow growing in size around him, pausing their little scrap and looking up the possums saw Shira's paw about to crush them; both possums barely evaded that attack from above, now it was their turn. Turning to look at each other and nodding the possum twins scampered to the base of the trees trunk behind the sleeping sabers, climbing up wasn't difficult and now they were both testing each branch to get the perfect shot on Diego and Shira; Crash positioned himself on one of the trees left branches and took aim at Diego, without wasting any more time he fired and hit Diego directly on his nose.

**Diego **(Shock)**: ***Jolts awake* "OW! What the…"

The possum twins struggled to hold in their laughter from Diego's reaction, he was clearly unaware of what had just hit him and he was even looking at Shira suspiciously as if he thought that it was her who struck his nose. Thinking that she was just acting as If she was asleep Diego began prodding Shira's side to tell her that he wasn't buying that act, her response made him second guess himself but he still wasn't going to fall for this trick again.

**Shira **(Tired/Grumpy)**: **"Ummm, stop poking me… *Diego continues and she bats his paw away* "…What do you want?"

**Diego **(Serious)**: **"Do you mind not smacking me in the nose whilst I'm sleeping hmm, I think you've already had your fun today."

**Shira **(Tired/Grumpy)**: ***Sits up and looks at Diego to seem him walking away* "What are you talking about?"

**Diego **(Sarcastic)**: **"You know exactly what I'm talking about." *Lays back down facing away from Shira*

**Shira: ***Rolls eyes* "Whatever."

When Diego and Shira both laid their heads down in an attempt to get back to sleep the possum twins couldn't help but let a few sniggers out, this really was a good prank, it was amusing watching Diego and Shira argue and they didn't even suspect what was actually going on. After Eddie managed to regain control of himself he told his brother it was his turn, scurrying over to the a branch on the right side of the tree he took aim at Shira, lining up the shot to hit her ear he fired the pebble as hard as he could; as soon as he did this an unexpected shattering sound echoed through the air, Crash and Eddie's eyes went wide when they realised just what had caused that sound. As Shira bolted up and jumped back she snarled and got into a defensive pose, looking around for what had caused that incredibly loud noise, she could have sworn the noise had come from right next to her, turning her head to her right she noticed green and blue fragments that looked as if they had come from sea shells.

In her sleepy state it took a few moments to register in Shira's mind what had happened, but the possums realised immediately and just sat on their branches in shock and fear of what Shira was going to do, after seven seconds it started to click together with Shira what had happened; as her eyes slowly widened in horror she reached for her right ear to confirm her suspicions. This time there was no jangling sound, this time the shattered remains of her earrings crumpled at her touch and fell part in her paw; Shira lowered her paw and stared mortified at the broken shell remains feeling her heart start to break and rip apart, tears started to sting and well up in her eyes but refusing to let them fall her anguish began to change to pure rage. Looking around trying to identify the culprit responsible Shira's eyes fell upon Diego, he was the only other animal here, without giving it time to think through she leapt at him with her fangs bared and claws outstretched.

**Shira **(Shouting/Anger)**: **"DIEGO YOU IDIOT!"

Waking up and turning around the only thing Diego was able to see was the paw that connected with the left side of his skull, the force that was put into the strike was enough to send Diego reeling backwards, shaking it off he picked himself up and put his paw to where he was hit before removing it; blood drenched his paw which was enough to spark his rage in an instant.

**Shira **(Shouting/Anger)**: **"WHY'D YOU DO IT HUH?" *Gets into an aggressive stance ready for a fight*

Catching Diego's attention he looked at Shira, his eyes and expression were warning her to back down and he also got into a crouched position, ready for a bloody battle, with neither backing down they began to circle each other baring their fangs and raising their hackles.

**Diego **(Anger)**: **"What are you talking about? What was that for?" *Lowly growls*

**Shira **(Shouting/Anger)**: **"YOU'RE SERIOUSLY GONNA ACT DUMB NOW, look at what you did!" *Smacks some shell fragments at Diego*

At first these broken shell pieces meant nothing to Diego, but when he looked back at Shira he noticed that something was different about her and it wasn't just her attitude, something was missing almost, that's when he looked at her ear and it hit him; without a response from Diego Shira was becoming impatient and leapt at him again, striking for his head. At the last second Diego moved out the way and tackled Shira to the ground trying to pin her down, not giving him the chance she kicked and clawed with her hind legs forcing him to get off of her.

**Diego **(Reasoning)**: **"Shira listen I had nothing to do with that, why would I do anything to hurt you like that?"

**Shira **(Anger)**: **"Yeah right, we're the only animals here so STOP LYING TO ME!" *Charges at Diego*

Diego tries to avoid taking another strike from Shira, but when he got out the way she continued to pursue him and inevitably managed to hit her mark; roaring in pain blood started to leak out of Diego's left flank, if he wanted to avoid getting injured further or worse injuring Shira he'd have to end this swiftly and to make it even trickier he had to refrain from using his fangs and claws. Launching a counter attack Diego pounced at Shira trying to pin her in position however she managed to duck out of the way and went straight back on the offensive, in a flurry of bites and strikes she managed to land multiple successful hits, but her stamina was beginning to run low, sensing this Diego knocked her down by swiping at her front legs and nearly had her fully pinned but she bit down hard into his front right leg, managing to draw blood yet again. Recoiling Diego jumped off Shira once again and she charged at him, this time he was going to finish this; as Shira pounced at him Diego ran at her, ducking underneath her he used all his paws to flip her onto her back, unable to correct herself in mid-air Shira landed on her back in the shallows of the lake.

**Diego **(Reasoning/Anger)**: **"Are you done now? Because I don't want to hurt you, but… YOU AREN'T GIVING ME MUCH CHOICE." *Lowly growls and snarls aggressively at Shira*

Slowly Shira flips over and picks herself up, keeping her head low and panting she drags herself out of the lakes shallows and back onto dry land now dripping wet; Diego could clearly see she was exhausted making it unlikely she'd lash out again so he stopped growling and snarling however he kept his distance. Refusing to make eye contacted with Diego Shira kept her head hung low to hide the tears that threatened to fall and turned to leave, still feeling enraged though she wasn't thinking clearly.

**Diego **(Calm)**: ***Sighs* "I know why you're upset now, but trust me, I didn't have anything to do with shattering your earrings… Do you need a break or-"

**Shira **(Anger/Shouting)**: **"Yeah a permanent break from _YOU_, WE'RE OVER DIEGO!"

Using the last remaining ooze of strength she had Shira ran away from Diego, not knowing or even caring where she was headed leaving Diego speechless, the events had happened incredibly quickly and now he was standing their eerily alone; a whole range of emotions was surging through his system, the most predominant being heartbreak from losing Shira and rage because someone had turned her against him and now she wouldn't even talk or look at him. Diego desperately wanted to pursue Shira, but the anger and his broken heart prevented him from taking any steps in the direction she stormed off in, letting out a heavy and depressed sigh Diego turned around and left in the opposite direction from Shira, he needed time to think all of what happened through. Up in the tree Crash and Eddie were still sat on their branches not able to believe their prank just had a major effect on the sabers lives, they were only having a little fun with them even if it did end up going slightly wrong; once they were sure both sabers were gone Crash and Eddie climbed down from the tree took a long look at the scene in front of them.

**Eddie **(Stunned)**: **"…Was that our fault." *Picks up a large green shell fragment*

**Crash **(Stunned)**: **"…I guess, but it was mainly your fault for shooting Shira's earring, what were you thinking dude." *Picks up a small blue shell fragment*

**Eddie **(Defensive)**: **"Hey I was trying to hit her ear… I just messed up is all."

**Crash: **"Well what are we going to do now? We could just put this behind us like it never happened."

**Eddie **(Guilty/Down)**: **"Yeah, but I don't know… It just doesn't seem right, maybe we should tell Ellie."

Exchanging a glance the possum brothers sign and then nod at each other, carrying the shell fragments they held by their tails they ran off to look for their mammoth sister, normally they would have had their laugh and then taken off with Diego and Shira chasing and yelling death threats a them. Seeing the fight they'd caused this time filled them with an odd emotion, guilt, and they wanted to rid themselves of this unnatural and unfamiliar feeling.

* * *

Running out of energy quickly Shira was still sprinting with one thought rushing through her mind _'Got to carry on going, got to get away from him'_, she had managed to make it to the eastern cliffs which overlooked the lake were she broke up from Diego, but she had no more energy to carry her further and so collapsed on the cliffs edge. Gazing at the lake caused a spike of pain to hit her, burying her head underneath her paws Shira mentally battled with her emotions, no matter how many times she told herself that Diego betrayed her trust just like Gutt she couldn't bring herself to hate him.

**Shira **(Thinking)**: **'_Diego… I hate you, I hate you so much… Why did you do it? And why do I still feel like I… NO! _*Deeply growls*

**? **(Concern)**: **"Shira?"

Not expecting someone to talk to her suddenly Shira sprang to her feet and got into a defensive position, ready for another right, when she saw the owner of the voice though her aggression soon melted away.

**Ellie: ***Warm-hearted smirk* "Easy girl, what's the matter?"

* * *

Plodding alone through the eastern forest most of Diego's anger had died down and now all he was left with was the feeling of regret and his broken heart, all he felt he could do was blame himself _'How could I let something like this happen? I should have stayed awake when whatever it was hit me, now it's too late, Shira won't even speak to me, why didn't I stay vigilant?_' In his sombre tone Diego carried on trudging along through the eastern forest unsure of what he was supposed to do now; a little further down he came across a memory from the time he first met Shira.

**Diego **(Thinking)**: **_'It's the tree, the tree that we held Shira captive in when she was still apart of Gutt's crew.' _*Steps in the middle of the trees entrance* _'Boy she hated my guts back then, and she probably hates them a lot more now." _*Sighs depressed*

Feeling the ground start to shake slightly Diego had a pretty good idea what was happening, turning around to look if he had been followed Diego's eyes fell upon his approaching mammoth friend Manny, stopping in his tracks Manny just looked at Diego with a pitying look.

**Manny **(Concern)**: **"Hey Diego."

* * *

**Shira **(Sad)**: **"What do I do Ellie? Those earrings were the only thing I had to remind me of my mother… I never really knew her, she died when I was a cub… My farther gave them to me as a gift when I became a teenager, and now they're gone because of Diego's idiocy! I attacked him and told him that we are through… so why do I still feel like I-"

**Ellie **(Gentle)**: **"Love him."

Out of the corner of her eye Ellie see's Shira give her a small nod in defeat, after sitting in silence with Shira for a few minutes she was finally starting to cave in a bit and let Ellie know what she was thinking; Ellie had already been given an explanation of what happened from her possum brothers, which she disciplined appropriately, but to help her saber friend she needed to hear the story from her mouth. Now knowing the full reason why Shira was so upset she could comfort her and try to convince her that Diego was innocent in this incident.

**Ellie **(Gentle)**: **"Something tells me that you don't actually believe he did it, and that's why you can't bring yourself to hate him, right?" *Shira gives Ellie another nod to confirm her theory* "If you want my opinion I don't think Diego would ever do anything to hurt you. Once you came into his life Shira he changed, he use to try and hide his emotions from everyone, but you managed to open him up and I bet he did the same with you, right."

Looking at Shira Ellie could see she was regretting her actions, she hadn't given it any thought at the time and blamed the animal she was closest to; sensing it was time to give Shira some space Ellie got up and started to head back towards the forest, but before she did this she used her trunk to place something in front of Shira.

**Ellie **(Caring)**: **"If you truly do love him don't let him slip away because of one mistake, and by the way…I know he didn't break your earrings." *Disappears into the forest*

Was she serious? What else did Ellie know, getting up Shira turned around to get answers from her, but it was too late, for a mammoth Ellie moved fast because Shira found herself alone; casting her attention back to the cliffs edge she saw what Ellie had left behind and it caused a gasp to escape her mouth and a single teardrop rolled down the remorseful saberess' face.

* * *

**Manny **(Playfully)**: **"So… Who gave you those wounds?"

**Diego **(Depressed)**: **"You know who did it, I can already tell so don't try messing with me, I'm not in the mood for games right now."

As Diego stated to walk away from him Manny wasn't too sure how he could help his saber friend, it wasn't easy losing someone who you were extremely close to and he knew that, but Diego still had a chance to fix the situation, if Diego didn't realise this soon he'd end up regretting it all his life.

**Manny **(Serious)**: **"Alright I'll just get right to the point then." *Diego stops walking* "I know how much it hurts when you lose someone like Shira… Remember I lost my first family; my mate, my son… Everything. I never had the opportunity to get them back and I was ready to give up on life; yeah I know what happened between the two of you, but don't let this one argument end everything you two had together… Couples argue all the time."

**Diego **(Depressed)**: ***Turns back to Manny* "So what am I supposed to do about it now? Shira told me exactly how she feels if you hadn't noticed."

Unsure of how to answer Diego Manny remained silent, why did sabers have to be so stubborn? For several seconds nothing was said between the two friends, they just stood there keeping eye contact; Diego was the first to tire of this and turned back around to leave, if Manny was going to get through to him he'd have to think fast.

**Manny **(Irritated)**: ***Sighs frustrated* "You're really just going to walk away from her? Never took you for a quitter Diego, if you need a reminder of what she meant to you why don't you go pay a visit to Switchback Cove."

With nothing more to say Manny turned back and walked away to leave Diego with his thoughts, alone once again Diego looked back at the tree prison and let out a long sigh, maybe Manny had a point, going back to Switchback Cove did seem like it might help clear his head. In the distance he could see the cove, continuing he proceeded at a slow pace towards the point where he thought he lost Shira the first time to the cruel hands of Captain Gutt.

* * *

Between Shira's snowy white paws lay a shell earring, the main part of it was a white Florida Auger (spiral shell) and it had a fragment of both her old green and blue shell earrings wrapped around it, the larger green piece was around the upper part of the shell whilst the smaller blue piece was around the bottom part. Wiping away the lonely tear drop that was steadily making its way down her face Shira reached out and picked up this new earring, it certainly was a thing of beauty that had come about from an unfortunate event which brought a small joyful smile to her face, but that soon faded away when she realised how much it reminded her of how her relationship with Diego started out. Forcefully pressing her watery eyes shut Shira wanted nothing more but to take everything back that she had said and done to Diego that day; even though he wasn't here with her Shira couldn't escape the image in her head of him smiling at her, as a small smile was sneaking across her lips Diego's image faded out of sight causing her to open her eyes and yet again another tear escaped from them.

**Play music now**

_Lessons learned and bridges burn to the ground… And it's too late now to put out the fire_

_Tables turned and I'm the one who's burning now, well I'm doing alright 'til I close my eyes and then I see your face and it's no surprise _

Clipping the new piece of jewellery into her right ear Shira knew what she had to do make things right between her and Diego. Unable to sit and let any more time pass her by she got up and started sprinting for the only place that she thought Diego could have wandered to in his current state, Switchback Cove, the place where they were finally able to connect together. At the time she resented Diego and would not have hesitated to end his life, but ever since they shared that connection Switchback Cove always kept a special space in Shira's heart and if she knew Diego at all it would be the same with him.

_Just like that I'm crawling back to you, just like you said I would yeah, I swallow my pride now I'm crawling back to you_

_Yeah I'm out of my head, can't wait any longer, down on my knees, I thought I was stronger _

_Just like that, like you said I'd do, yeah I'm crawling back to you _

_Time can heal, but the scars only hide the way you feel… And it's hard to forget how I left you hanging on by a thread_

As dark grey clouds began to block out the sun Shira stopped at the same fateful lake that seemed intent on reminding her of the massive mistake she had made, the shell fragments were still scattered around the floor and on closer inspection faint patches of blood coated a few of them as well as the ground and some of the trees. Light drops of rain began their decent to earth urging her to move on and find Diego, shaking off the negative thoughts that started creeping into her mind Shira continued onward.

_When everything is said I'll regret it, yeah I was doing alright, thought I could make it, then I see your face and it's hard to fake it _

_Just like that I'm crawling back to you, just like you said I would yeah, I swallow my pride now I'm crawling back to you_

_Yeah I'm out of my head, can't wait any longer, down on my knees, I thought I was stronger _

_Just like that, like you said I'd do, yeah I'm crawling back to yyyooouuu _

_If you could find a way to forgive everything I know you would… And I would take it all back if only I knew that I could _

Reaching the outlining cliffs of Switchback Cove Diego's scent had become stronger, but the rain had become more intense and threatened to wash it away, Diego was still nowhere to be seen but another landmark caught Shira's attention, the tree prison. There was no time to sit around and reminisce on good memories however, time spent gazing at lakes and trees was time wasted as Diego's scent and blood trail became fainter and fainter; sniffing the paw prints left by Diego told Shira that he had been here not too long ago and that the scent trail headed down to the lower levels of Switchback Cove. With the rain increasing in ferocity Shira ran down to the lower ledges and followed the scent trail as it diminished rapidly.

_Lessons learned and bridges burn to the ground… And it's too late now to put out the fire_

_And just like that I'm crawling back to you, just like you said I would yeah, I swallow my pride now I'm crawling back to you_

_Yeah I'm out of my head, can't wait any longer, down on my knees, I thought I was stronger _

_And just like that, like you said I'd do, yeah I'm crawling back to yyyooouuu_

Running across the same platform Shira had chased after Diego back when she was a part of Gutt's crew gave her flashbacks, Gutt threatening to skin her if she didn't kill Diego, the ice ship drifting away with Manny, Sid and Granny on board, the moment when she finally caught Diego before he could make it to the ice ship, she had him pinned but then let him go and she even helped them escape when she pushed ice blocks under her captains feet. As Shira ran back through these past memories she was closing the gap between her and Diego, puddles were more like small streams under her paws trying to trip her over the narrow cliff ledge, but they were unsuccessful and finally she made it to the end of the cliff ledge where Diego was standing and staring out blankly at Switchback Coves exit.

_Yeah, I'm crawling back to yyyooouuu, yeah, yeah_

_Oh, crawling back to yyyooouuu_

_Yeah, I'm crawling back to yyyooouuu _

**Shira: ***Panting* "Diego?"

No answer, the male saber remained unmoved and kept his solitary gaze fixed upon the gloomy site ahead of him, the rain drops that created a rippling effect as it meet the ocean combined with the dark grey clouds above their heads summed up Diego's mood perfectly, he was crushed and had disconnected himself from everything around him. Raising her voice and calling out again Shira was able to get his attention even if he didn't turn around to full acknowledge her presence by turning around.

**Shira: **"DIEGO!" *Diego swivels his ears around at the sound of Shira's voice* "Can we talk?"

Letting out a deep sigh Diego turned to face the animal he couldn't get out of his, gazing upon Shira again lifted up his spirits a bit but his features remained emotionless, at this point Shira was lost for words and an awkward silence fell upon them for the first time in a good while which made both of them feel uncomfortable. The cold and damp weather didn't faze Diego at all as he patiently waited for what Shira had to say to him, when she said nothing it felt odd like she was afraid of how he'd respond, noticing that she was soaked, her pelt dripping wet and the light shivering he decided to speak up.

**Diego **(Blank tone)**: **"Follow me."

Even his tone had no emotion behind it whatsoever, never the less Shira followed him and they walked back down the cliff ledge in silence, the only sound came from the rain hitting the ground or the sea. Diego led Shira back to the tree prison, it was nothing much but it held significant meaning to both sabers and it did get them out of the rain, shaking the rain water from her fur Shira entered the hollowed out tree whilst Diego just walked in not concerned with his damp fur; sitting at opposite sides of the tree both sabers waited for the other to open up conversation. Shira eventually managed to gather up some confidence and broke the silence.

**Shira **(Shakily/Sad)**: **"I-I… I j-just wanted to say that I… I'm s-sorry. Y-Ya know for what I d-did to you at the lake. " *Lowers head shamefully* "I didn't even think what I was doing through properly, when I saw the only thing I had to remember my mother by broken into pieces… I thought… I blamed… I was wrong, I-I'm so sorry, you'd never have even thought of doing something like that, i-it just shows how stupid I am huh." *Looks Diego in the eyes again*

**Diego **(Comforting)**: **"…No. It was my fault. I let that happen when I let my guard down, if I was awake I could have stopped all of this from happening." *Lightly smirks and notices Shira's new accessory* "That new earring you've got on is quite beautiful though, where'd ya get it?"

**Shira: **"Oh, Ellie gave it to me, it's got part of the old earrings attached to it… you really like it?"

**Diego **(Flattering)**: **"Yeah, the only thing that I know has more beauty than it is… you."

Under her fur Shira can't help but feel herself blushing at Diego's complement and it didn't go unnoticed as a smile grew across his face, smiling back Shira stood up and closed the gap between them, laying down next to him she leaned into him and began licking the wound on the side of his face that was still leaking out a few drops of fresh blood. Diego didn't know whether he should move away or not, the sensational feeling of having Shira's tongue brushing through his fur and cleaning his wound kept him pinned in position allowing her to continue, purring started to emanate from Diego as he gave into the pleasuring feeling that forced its way out of him; Shira smiled at this and continued until she was satisfied that the blood flow had stopped.

**Shira **(Happy)**: **"Do ya forgive me Softie?" *Purrs as Diego licks under her neck*

**Diego **(Happy)**: **"I could never stay mad at you Kitty."

_**Loving bonds are strong, but life always seems to have a way to test them in the worst ways possible, only those who can forgive and hold on to each other will endure these challenges.**_

* * *

**This story turned out to be a lot longer than I originally planned, say by about two thousand words, but hey ideas kept coming to my head so I threw them all in and this is the end result. **

**I gotta say I'm quite happy with the outcome, but what about you? To let me know leave a review so I can hear your opinions and thoughts, if you really enjoyed the story click the heart icon somewhere on the page also known as the favourite button; thanks to everyone who views, reviews and favourites my story and with nothing more to say this is bye for now eh, see ya'll. **


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